Raleigh–Durham International Airport (IATA: RDU, ICAO: KRDU, FAALID: RDU) is a public international airport 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of the town of Morrisville in Wake County, North Carolina. The airport covers 4,929 acres (1,995 ha) and has three runways and direct flights to 38[2] domestic and international cities on 352 daily flights.[3] In 2011 more than 9 million passengers traveled through the airport.[4] The RDU Airport Authority is in charge of the airport facilities and its operations. The Airport Authority is controlled by a board of representatives from the counties of Wake and Durham, and the cities of Raleigh and Durham.

History[edit]

Early days[edit]

Early photo of Raleigh–Durham Airport.

The region's first airport opened in 1929 as Raleigh's Municipal Airport, just south of what is now downtown. It was quickly outgrown, and in 1939 the North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Raleigh–Durham Aeronautical Authority to build and operate a replacement airport convenient to both Raleigh and Durham. This was also promoted by Eastern Air Lines, led by then chairman Eddie Rickenbacker who sought to make Raleigh–Durham a stop on the airline's New York City-Miami route.

The new Raleigh–Durham Airport opened on May 1, 1943 with flights by Eastern Airlines. The passenger terminal was built from materials remaining after the construction of four barracks for the Army Air Forces Air Technical Service Command airfield.[5] The three runways the airport had in 1951 are still visible on the southeast side of the airport: 4500-ft runway 5, 4500-ft runway 18 and 4490-ft runway 14.

After World War II Capital Airlines joined Eastern at RDU; Piedmont Airlines arrived in 1948. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 36 departures a day: twenty Eastern, eight Capital and eight Piedmont. Nonstop flights did not reach beyond Washington, Atlanta, or the Appalachians (but Eastern started a Super Constellation nonstop to Newark in 1958).[citation needed] The next airline (aside from United's takeover of Capital in 1961) was Delta Air Lines in 1970.[citation needed] In April 1969 nonstops didn't reach beyond New York or Atlanta, and Chicago was the only nonstop west of the Appalachians.

In the 1970s, the last decade before airline deregulation, Piedmont connected RDU to Charlotte, Greensboro, New Bern, Norfolk, Richmond, Rocky Mount, Washington, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.[6] United flew to Asheville, Charlotte, Huntsville and Newark,[7] while Eastern flew to Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond and Washington,[8] and Delta flew to Chicago and Greensboro.[9]

Hub years[edit]

American Airlines built a terminal at RDU between 1985 and 1987 to house a new hub operation,[10] and offered service to 38 cities at the hub's outset in June 1987.[11] The RDU hub operated at a loss even during its heyday in the early 1990s, along with the north-south hubs AA then had at Nashville and San Jose.[12]

The hub's traffic peaked in 1991. Although the Raleigh/Durham area had growing local traffic, the connecting hub faced intense competition from Delta and Eastern in Atlanta and from USAir in Charlotte, as well as the short-lived Continental Airlines hub in Greensboro which opened in 1993. American began to consider closing the hub in late 1993; operations were gradually downsized through June 1995, when American formally closed the hub, retaining flights to only three other hubs and London.[13]

Midway Airlines replaced AA as the airport's hub carrier from 1995 until 2003.[14] In 1995, Midway had flights to Boston, Hartford, Long Island, Newark, Newburgh, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington in the Northeast, and to Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach in Florida.[15] American subleased its gates at RDU to Midway in order to repay $113 million in American-guaranteed bonds which had been used to construct the hub facilities.[16] Midway suspended service for some time after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ceased operations in 2002 and filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

In 2010 RDU's traffic began to recover. In the first few months of the year passenger numbers stabilized at RDU, ending the decrease in 2008/2009. In the first four months of 2010, 2.7 million passengers traveled through RDU.[17] Growth was flat, compared to the same period a year ago, but these signs were positive, indicating that the decline was over. Also, after cutting service, carriers at RDU began to add (or re-add) new service to the schedule. In April 2010 Midwest Airlines resumed service from RDU, adding service to Milwaukee.[18] This route ended when Midwest was acquired by Frontier Airlines. Southwest Airlines, which began service to RDU in June 1999,[19] had also aggressively expanded at RDU, adding service to St. Louis in May, and replacing American Airlines as the largest carrier at RDU.[20][21]JetBlue Airways also increased service to Boston in May 2010.[22]

In February 2011 Continental Airlines commenced its first international flight from RDU, to Cancún. Delta added three daily flights to Baltimore in September 2011. In November Vision Airlines began operations at RDU, and added a twice weekly flight to Freeport.[24] This service was taken over by Bahamasair in May 2012. United Airlines started the airport's first non-stop flight to San Francisco in August 2012. In December 2012 American Airlines announced the airport's first daily non-stop flight to Los Angeles, beginning in April 2013.

Raleigh–Durham International Airport has terminals 1 (Concourse A gates A1-A9; there is no Concourse B) and 2 (Concourse C gates C1–C25, Concourse D gates D1–D20). Gates C23, C24, and C25 are international gates and can accommodate aircraft up to the Boeing 747.

Cargo terminal[edit]

RDU's North Cargo Terminal

The airport incorporates two cargo areas, North Cargo and South Cargo. The North Cargo terminal area is used by cargo airlines. The largest cargo operators are FedEx and UPS. The South Cargo terminal area is used by the following commercial airlines for cargo operations:

Airport facilities[edit]

The airport has implemented the most ambitious expansion in its history, begun in 2006 and completed in January 2011. The airport has two terminals: Terminal 1, opened after extensive renovation in 2014; and Terminal 2, opened in 2008. The two terminals do not have an airside connection. Passengers moving between the terminals may ride a shuttle bus or take the moving walkway through the covered parking decks between the terminals.

Terminal 1[edit]

The first terminal at RDU opened in 1955. Expanded in 1972 and again in 1976,[28] the building was named Terminal B in 1982 when the then-new Terminal A opened. The two terminals were connected by a landside interior walkway. Terminal B was closed in 1989. In 1994, Terminal B lost its identity when it was renovated into an extension of Terminal A; an airside walkway was added to link all gates. In 2001 the south end of Terminal A was extended to include five temporary gates; these gates were closed in 2009, as the airlines using them moved to other gates.

Terminal A was renamed Terminal 1 on October 26, 2008 to bring RDU in line with terminal naming conventions and to end years of confusion.

After years of proposals,[29][30] the 1981 part of Terminal 1 was closed in 2012 for a complete reconstruction. The building reopened on April 13, 2014 with nine gates; initially, Southwest and AirTran occupied the rebuilt terminal.[31] The pre-1981 parts of Terminal 1 and the 2001 south-end extension are scheduled for demolition.[32]

Terminal 2[edit]

New gates at Terminal 2 (Concourse C) that are now being used by American Eagle, US Airways, US Airways Express United/United Express, Air Canada Jazz, and Delta Connection.

Terminal 2 occupies the site of the former Terminal C, built between 1985 and 1987 for the American Airlines hub. In planning the terminal, American assumed that only around 20% of passengers would originate or terminate their trips in Raleigh–Durham; rather, Terminal C was optimized for the exchange of passengers between connecting flights, with a relatively small check-in and baggage claim area. In reality, connecting passengers only accounted for around two-thirds of the terminal's passengers. After the American and Midway hubs closed, the airport faced a decision about the future of Terminal C and how to eliminate the inconveniences it imposed on local passengers.[10]

In December 2003, the Airport Authority announced plans to expand and renovate the originally 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m²) building, transforming it into a new 900,000 ft² (84,000 m²) facility. In January 2006, however, the airport decided instead to replace the building entirely.

A view of Concourse C inside Terminal 2.

Terminal 2 was designed by Fentress Architects under a philosophy of contextual regionalism, related to Critical regionalism. The terminal, invoking the flowing hills and culture of North Carolina's Piedmont region,[33] consisted of two phases of construction. The first, larger Phase 1 opened on October 26, 2008 while Phase 2 opened on January 23, 2011 in time for the 2011 NHL All Star Game.[17] Terminal 2 has 36 gates; three configured for international flights. All gates feature adjustable jetbridges that can accommodate aircraft from regional jets to Boeing 747s. The federal inspection area has 16 stations.

Runways[edit]

RDU has three runways. Two parallel runways are designated 5L/23R and 5R/23L, and a cross-wind runway designated 14/32. Both parallel runways have been equipped with LED lights.

Runway 5L/23R: 10,000 feet (3,000 m) x 150 feet (concrete)

Runway 5R/23L: 7,500 feet (2,300 m) x 150 feet (asphalt)

Runway 14/32: 3,550 feet (1,080 m) x 100 feet (asphalt)

Prior to September 11, 2001, The RDU Airport Authority and Federal Aviation Administration planned a fourth runway at the airport, but with the demise of the Midway Airlines hub and the airline industry downturn following 9/11 terrorist attacks, this plan was placed on hold. During the period between May 27, 2008 and June 24, 2008, and between May 19, 2010 and June 17, 2010, runway 5R/23L was closed for renovation.[34]

Parking[edit]

The parking garage at RDU Airport

In addition to standard hourly and daily parking garages, RDU operates four park-and-ride lots served by shuttle bus.

Lot 1 is a "cell-phone waiting" lot

Lots 2 and 5 are used primarily for seasonal overflow and holiday traffic.

Lots 3 and 4 are traditional park-and-ride facilities.

There are, currently, a total of 11,021 parking spaces available to passengers[35]

USO of NC (United Service Organization of North Carolina) RDU is North Carolina's first airport-based USO and opened for military families in 2004. The facility is run by donations made to the USO. RDU USO location and facts:

Terminal 2 Ticketing Area

Open 24 hours a day

Staffed by Volunteers

3,100 square feet (290 m2)

Media Center

Bright Spaces (children only play area)

Reading Room

Kitchen

Observation areas[edit]

A model of RDU runways for children at the outdoor observation deck.

RDU maintains two public observation decks.

One deck overlooks runway 5L/23R near the air traffic control tower and park-and-ride lot 2. It has a playground with a simplistic model of RDU's runways for kids and air traffic communications are broadcast via a loudspeaker for the curious public.

The second deck is located at the General Aviation Terminal. It includes a café called "CrossWinds Cafe". This observation deck allows for both inside and outside viewing.

Ground transportation[edit]

Public transit[edit]

Public transportation to and from RDU is provided by Triangle Transit, which offers scheduled, fixed-route regional and commuter bus service between the airport, Amtrak, and the principal cities of Raleigh, Durham and town of Chapel Hill (where TTA connects with the respective local urban transit systems), as well as to and from Research Triangle Park and several of the region's larger suburban communities.

TTA Route 100 [Downtown Raleigh – RDU – Regional Transit Center]

For hire[edit]

Taxicab service at RDU is operated by RDU Taxi Inc., with a contract extension that runs through December 31, 2014.

Shuttle services: As in most regions, numerous hotels throughout the area offer guest shuttles to and from the airport. Service varies by location, however most are available from approximately 6 a.m. daily through the final arrival/departure of the evening.

Major rental car providers operate from the airport.

Incidents and accidents[edit]

On December 13, 1994, American Eagle Flight 3379 operated by AMR's regional airline Flagship Airlines,[38] a Jetstream 31 was on a regularly scheduled service of Raleigh–Greensboro-Raleigh when it crashed into a wooded area about 4 miles (6.4 km) SW of the airport, in the vicinity of Morrisville, NC. Of the 20 onboard (18 passengers and 2 crewmembers) 15 were killed while the 5 survivors received serious injuries. The probable cause of the crash was the pilot not following proper procedure when it came to an engine failure situation.[39]

On February 19, 1988, AVAir Flight 3378, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner was on a regularly scheduled flight between Raleigh and Richmond when it crashed into a reservoir about a mile from the airport, where it had departed in the vicinity of Cary, North Carolina: The aircraft departed during low ceiling, low visibility, and night conditions. Analysis of radar data indicated the aircraft was in a 45-degree descending turn. Both crew members and all 10 passengers were killed. It was revealed during the investigation that the pilot had complained of illness but decided to continue the flight.